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Around SBN: Four TCU Football Players Among 17 Arrested In Drug Ring

Comcast needs two Hotstove shows!


The hotstove show on comcast which is supposed to be split between As and Giants is almost all about the giants it makes me sick!I tried watching it and each time its like 90 percent Giants ,even the set is Giants orange!

The Giants bias has become even more obvious since the world series win I all but stopped watching chronicle live for months because all it was was a Giants love in!In all the As four world series wins I dont think they got a tenth of the coverage the Giants got with one,Giants fans better pray that they can have a division race against the el foldo San diego Padres a team which always finds a way to lose and then meet the overrated Phils which can beat the Rays but ofcourse roll over for the Yanks and then get to play the super choker Rangers a team that amazes me with the inventive ways they find to blow the big one!Being an as fan can be tough but the more vocal we are about the bias pointing out that untill recently with the advent of the Giants new park each team sold about the same amount of tickets with the As outselling the Giants some seasons.Be loud and proud and call the media on this less than subtle bias which was well in place long before the new park in San Fran

0 comments  |  1 recs | 

Moneyball Part II: Billy Beane Shocks the World. Again.

I write my own baseball blog, called Baseball's Economist; and I figured I'd share my post from the other day about the A's signing of Yoenis Cespedes with the Athletics Nation community:

Does Billy Beane know something that no one else in baseball knows… again?? How could baseball’s smallest market team put up a figure that scared off all the big market teams, including the craziest spenders of this off-season, for a player who has never stepped foot on even a minor league field in America? This week, Yoenis Cespedes signed a 4 year/$36 million contract with Beane’s Oakland Athletics. Kevin Goldstein rated Cespedes the 20th best prospect in baseball coming into 2012, and he has put up some incredible numbers against baseball’s elite, albeit in a small sample size. In six games during the 2009 WBC, Cespedes hit 2 home runs, drove in 5, and hit .458; good for an OPS of 1.480. This move by Oakland came completely out of left field (pun intended), and brings up many interesting questions; I’ll attempt to answer three of them.

1. Does this deal make financial sense for Oakland?

This deal does make financial sense because to be worth $9 million a year, Cespedes will only need accumulate a WAR of 8.0 (based on today’s current market). Also, the contract does not push Oakland’s 2012 payroll over $60 million. Id be shocked if Cespedes wasn’t worth 2 wins a season over the next four years. The outfielders who had around 2.0 fWAR in 2011, were Coco Crisp, David Dejesus, Seth Smith, and Josh Willingham… all who are ironically connected to Oakland. I’m not a scout so I can’t truly analyze his ability, but from what I’ve read Cespedes will likely be more productive than those five players. I’m sure Beane feels the same way, or else he would not have made Cespedes his highest paid player for the upcoming season.

2. Can Cespedes reach his maximum potential, and if he does what does that mean for Oakland?

Based on Cespedes' 2011 numbers in Cuba, Clay Davenport projects a major league line of .245/.311/.469 for the Cuban outfielder. A .780 OPS is solid and similar to the offensive numbers put up by outfielders, Adam Jones, Marlon Byrd, and the 2007-10 version of Hunter Pence; which would be serviceable to Oakland, but not the superstar Beane seems to be hoping for. Oakland's front office must think that Cespedes will reach his lofty potential, and be a powerful corner outfielder along the lines of Jay Bruce. Over the last two seasons, Bruce has produced an average of 29 home runs and an OPS of .832. Bruce is projected (by Bill James) to have an OPS of .859 and hit 32 home runs, in 2012. An outfielder in his late twenties, who is able to put up those kind of numbers would be an extremely valuable asset, and make this signing an incredible one.

The question is if Cespedes will be used to bring in another stock of prospects to continue Oakland’s rebuilding, or if his production will have Oakland competing during 2014 and ‘15 seasons. Beane has traded almost all of his valuable assets away this off-season (Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey), for a stock of young players that have added to Oakland’s youth. Oakland won’t be competitive in the A.L. West in 2012 or 2013. But, they have an interesting young pitching staff, and Jemile Weeks is a ballplayer, so by 2014 when there will be two wild cards teams, it would not be outrageous to think the Athletics will be a playoff contender. Waiting through two more non-competitive seasons may be a little depressing for Oakland fans, but there is definitely some glimmers of hope.

3. Is cleaning house at a certain position and then acquiring a massive surplus at that position in the same off-season, the new "Moneyball" strategy?

On December 31st, Oakland’s outfield consisted of Ryan Sweeny, Michael Taylor, and Jermaine Mitchell, …. Who?? Since then, they have traded for Josh Reddick, Smith, and Colin Cowgill, and signed Crisp, Cespedes, and Jonny Gomes. The moneyball concept used to be acquiring players with high OBP’s, that concept now seems to be all about converting a weakness into a surplus. Let’s say you lock in Crisp in center and Cespedes in right, that leaves Oakland with four outfielders, two left-handed and two right-handed all competing for left field. I’m not sure if Beane has a plan to trade some of this stock, or just wants an incredible amount of depth. Cespedes, Smith, Reddick, Cowgill and Crisp are all under team control for at least the next three years, so it seems that Gomes is the most expendable. This amount of outfielders leaves me as confused as Scott Hatteberg must’ve been when he was told that he was going to replace Jason Giambi at first base in 2002. I honestly cannot come to any conclusion on what Beane expects to do with all of these outfielders. My best guess is that he hopes Gomes gets enough at-bats in 2012, to have some value at the trade deadline, then trade Smith either before 2013 or during, and have Crisp, Cespedes, and Reddick as a lethal outfield in 2014. I’m not sure if Beane’s strategy for the future is the right one, but the last time he thought outside the box like this, his team was a perennial contender.

Poll
Who will be the A's most productive hitter in 2012?

  122 votes | Results

10 comments  |  2 recs | 

Let's Make Some Nicknames!

I'd like to take a minute or two from everyone's day to talk about nicknames. Or more specifically, nicknames of current A's players.

Everyone knows about how Chuck Finley was the ultimate showman and turned his team into almost the circus act of baseball with their garish uniforms, awesome facial hair, and great promotions. I think we, as the fans, should bring some of that attitude back.

We are in a unique place in baseball history where we can create nicknames for our team that can spread via the interwebs. Nicknames which AN, with its considerable influence, can spread to the A's and their broadcasters, and finally on to ESPN where the country at large can learn about how awesome some of our guys are.

The Mustache Gang, the Bash Brothers, Catfish, Eck, Hendu, Blue Moon, Rollie (Side note to Ray Fosse, just adding -ie or -y to the end of someone's name should not be the basis for EVERY nickname). Let's put our heads together and come up with some awesome nicknames that can spread throughout the baseball world and generate some interest in our boys in Green and Gold.

Let's have some fun with this. Some of my suggestions after The Jump...

Continue reading this post »

18 comments  |  2 recs | 

Wolf being told to spend money


I don't know if this has been brought up or not as I have not been keeping up with AN over the last few weeks, but the conspiracy theorist in me thinks that Lew Wolf has been told by Selig that he will give him San Jose but that Wolf has to play ball. At around the time Selig announced that the stadium was on the "front burner" Beane started signing players like Coco, Gomes, Colon and then trading for Smith. Honestly who saw any of these signings coming? With these moves the A's went from possible 100 games losers to being mediocre to decent. The rest of baseball does not want the A's to be terrible because the worse they are, the worse the revenue they pull in which means the other owner would have to shell out more in revenue sharing. The rest of baseball doesn't want to pay welfare to any team and especially not to a team that is intentionally tanking. So Selig told Wolf that if wants San Jose then he needs to spend more money this season in order to generate more wins and revenue.

I believe Selig has a soft spot for Manny mostly because he helped bring a WS to Boston which MLB undoubtedly loves. I think this is a major factor in Manny's reduced suspension. Maybe its a coincidence, but the A's are the only team "interested" in Manny. I don't think is a coincidence. If the A's sign Manny then its another box checked off on Seligs 'San Jose to Do List' for Wolf.

21 comments  | 

The wRC+ Challenge

No, this isn't a discussion about rally racing, though let's give it up for Ken Block, the American action sports legend and only Yankee* on the 2012 circuit. This is the W.R.C. for those who may be confused right now. Okay, enough international racing talk, let's get back to some baseball. Here's the challenge:

Who do you, AN, believe will lead this team in wRC+ at the end of the upcoming season?

In non-sabermetric terms, this question is simply: Who will be the team's best hitter in 2012? The math inclined (myself included) like to quantify this through mathemagic and look at stats such as wRC, but please use the metric of your choice. Keep in mind that this discussion isn't about the best overall player; I'm tired of hearing about defense and positional value. I want to know who you think will be the guy we most look forward to seeing come up the plate.

I have no idea whatsoever who's going to take home the A's wRC+ title. Last year Willingham's skill set of home runs and not much else beat out Weeks with his doubles n' triples and Scott "I sort of know how to draw walks" Sizemore's late season surge

2011 A's who were above league average in wRC+ (100 is an exactly league average hitter)**:

Willingham: 123

Sizemore: 118

Weeks: 110

Crisp: 100

This year the title is completely up for grabs. With Willingham gone, Sizemore is now the reigning champ on the team. But Weeks should be biting at his heels. Crisp will probably finish outside the top 3 again (yay for veterans you can count on). The question becomes, who among the hordes of OF/1B/DH do you like to challenge Weeks and Sizemore for king of the hill?

There's the new golden boy Cespedes. Smith could wind up with a huge wRC+ if platooned correctly. Allen could turn in a Willingham type season buoyed by HRs and eke out the top dog position. Maybe Reddick/Carter/Kila/Taylor blossoms into a stud hitter? That walking fool Barton is still just a year removed from a 126 wRC+ season.

My prediction: Smith takes home the title for this rate stat, but does it with only about 300 PA to his name. Among the full-timers, I like Sizemore to take a step forward and capture the 2012 A's wRC+ title. A guy like Reddick could settle in to a quiet life of 105 wRC+ production, but the others will have wild swings of productivity and slumpage. I've resigned myself to the idea of Manny coming to Oakland, and I'm okay with him putting up serviceable numbers. I dislike the idea of him being our best hitter. Here's a stat: In Manny's worst full season he put up a Willingham-like 125 wRC+ (for Boston in '07).

So, who do you all think will be the biggest threat at the plate for the green and gold this year?

*Does it bother anyone else that out hated baseball rival bears the name of the international nickname for Americans. Every time someone references the US populace using that nickname, I have to twinge a bit.

**Well, if you want to play small sample size, Jai Miller hit that one home run as part of his 12 PAs and wound up with a 103 wRC+ last year.

5 comments  | 

Maybe this is a stupid stats question


Think about the most average player, and whatever you think the best hitting summary statistic is, which i'll call 'H'. now think about whatever pitching stat you value the most, and let's call that 'P'. You can sort the league's pitchers from low P to high P values, and look at the hitter's H stats in that way (ie. his H value for the bottom 10% of the pitchers, then the next 10%, etc). Obviously there will be a tendency for reduced H values as the P group becomes more difficult. Over the population of a league, you can get a measure of what that relationship looks like.
The goal is find out whether a hitter does better than expected given his overall stats against either strong pitching or weak pitching. (ie., if his overall stats indicate a H value of 5, you might expect that he will bat like a 7 against the bottom 10% of pitchers in his league, and a 3 against the top 10%. )
For minor leaguers, would you think that a player that outperforms his overall stats against the better pitchers be a better prospect than a batter who outperforms his overall stats against the weaker pitchers?
I think maybe so, because the better pitchers on a given minor league level are the ones who the minor league batter will face when he gets to the next level.
For major leaguers, are there really some hitters who succeed more than expected against better pitchers and suck more than expected against weaker pitchers? If you could quantify this, would it be useful on either the major or minor league level? And even if it would be useful, is there enough data to evaluate and get significance in your answers?

(and if it would be of use, it could be turned around to evaluate a given pitcher and his performance against better and worse hitters vs. expected results)

I was just trying to think of a way to better predict future performance. I picture 2 AAA hitters with identical overall stats -- but one doing better than expected against the best AAA pitchers but not as good as you would think against the weak AAA pitchers.

This question written by someone (me) who knows little about baseball stats, and I'm sorry if it is, indeed, stupid. It's a long off-season.

7 comments  | 

A's reportedly sign Cespedes


KNBR just announced that the A's signed Yeonis Cespedis for 4 years $36 million. We will see if this is true. So far I haven't found anything official yet. I was suprised when I did not see anything on AN about it yet. This is an interesting signing if it is true. The Athletics could certainly use the talent, but it does not really fit the rebuild. If we did sign Cespedes where does he fit in with all of the other recent player acquisitions?


27 comments  | 

Is It Really Worth It: Three Veterans Who May Be Playing Oakland Next Year, But Shouldn't Be

.261/16/73

.290/13/63

.059/0/0

Those were the stat lines (AVG/HR/RBI) of three well-known veterans in 2011. The 1st is johnny Damon. The 2nd is Vladimir Guerrero. The third... is Manny Ramirez.

Of course, Ramirez only had 17 plate appearances in for Tampa Bay before he was suspended (again) for drug use. He ended up retiring halfway through the season before announcing his return to baseball this offseason, and perhaps ushering baseball's version of Brett Favre. He will miss the first 50 games of the season in 2012, and unless he plays just about every single game, he'll finish with 100 games played. Coupled with his lousy attitude and the fact that he's a 39 year-old with a bad track record, is he really worth signing to a million-dollar contract just so that we can see Manny being Manny (which isn't even a good thing).

But here's the thing: are any of three aforementioned vets - Vlad, Damon and Ramirez - actually worth signing? Well, I say no but let's compare them.

1: Johnny Damon


For those of you who didn't know (which may be no one, but whatever), Johnny Damon played exactly one season for the A's, in 2001. He hit .256 with 9 homeruns, 49 RBI and 27 steals (12 CS) in 644 AB's. He was a good hitter who played excellent defense and was a catalyst atop the Oakland A's lineup (and he was better then his successor, Terrence Long). After 2001, he left to pursue a multi-year contract with the Red Sox and ended winning a World Series. Statistically, he made a name for himself as a premier player, and twice hit over .300. In 2006, he went to the Bronx where he once again won a WS while continuing to hit and play good defense. then, he signed a 1-year contract with Detroit. The thing is, the Tigers had a young kid called Austin Jackson who ended up hitting over .300 as a rookie. Damon played 33 games in left, but he ended up spending most of his time as a DH. In 2011, johnny hit 16 homeruns and stole 19 bags in 582 at-bats for the Tampa Bay Rays. This was almost solely as a DH; he played 33 games in the field. Here's his career stat line:

YearAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBPosAwards
1995 21 KCR AL 47 206 188 32 53 11 5 3 23 7 0 12 22 .282 .324 .441 .765 97 83 2 1 2 3 0
1996 22 KCR AL 145 566 517 61 140 22 5 6 50 25 5 31 64 .271 .313 .368 .680 73 190 4 3 10 5 3 *
1997 23 KCR AL 146 524 472 70 130 12 8 8 48 16 10 42 70 .275 .338 .386 .723 88 182 3 3 6 1 2 *
1998 24 KCR AL 161 710 642 104 178 30 10 18 66 26 12 58 84 .277 .339 .439 .779 101 282 4 4 3 3 4 *
1999 25 KCR AL 145 660 583 101 179 39 9 14 77 36 6 67 50 .307 .379 .477 .856 116 278 13 3 3 4 5 *
2000 26 KCR AL 159 741 655 136 214 42 10 16 88 46 9 65 60 .327 .382 .495 .877 118 324 7 1 8 12 4 * MVP-19
2001 27 OAK AL 155 719 644 108 165 34 4 9 49 27 12 61 70 .256 .324 .363 .687 82 234 7 5 5 4 1 *
2002 28 BOS AL 154 702 623 118 178 34 11 14 63 31 6 65 70 .286 .356 .443 .799 109 276 4 6 3 5 5 * AS
2003 29 BOS AL 145 690 608 103 166 32 6 12 67 30 6 68 74 .273 .345 .405 .750 94 246 5 2 6 6 4 *
2004 30 BOS AL 150 702 621 123 189 35 6 20 94 19 8 76 71 .304 .380 .477 .857 117 296 8 2 0 3 1 * MVP-16
2005 31 BOS AL 148 688 624 117 197 35 6 10 75 18 1 53 69 .316 .366 .439 .805 111 274 5 2 0 9 3 * AS,MVP-13
2006 32 NYY AL 149 671 593 115 169 35 5 24 80 25 10 67 85 .285 .359 .482 .841 115 286 4 4 2 5 1 */3 MVP-15
2007 33 NYY AL 141 605 533 93 144 27 2 12 63 27 3 66 79 .270 .351 .396 .747 96 211 4 2 1 3 1 /3
2008 34 NYY AL 143 623 555 95 168 27 5 17 71 29 8 64 82 .303 .375 .461 .836 119 256 5 1 2 1 0 */3
2009 35 NYY AL 143 626 550 107 155 36 3 24 82 12 0 71 98 .282 .365 .489 .854 119 269 9 2 2 1 1 *
2010 36 DET AL 145 613 539 81 146 36 5 8 51 11 1 69 90 .271 .355 .401 .756 105 216 5 2 2 1 2
2011 37 TBR AL 150 647 582 79 152 29 7 16 73 19 6 51 92 .261 .326 .418 .743 110 243 4 7 2 5 1 *D7/3
17 Seasons 2426 10693 9529 1643 2723 516 107 231 1120 404 103 986 1230 .286 .353 .435 .789 105 4146 93 50 57 71 38
162 Game Avg. 162 714 636 110 182 34 7 15 75 27 7 66 82 .286 .353 .435 .789 105 277 6 3 4 5 3

Obviously, he's gotten worse over the years, but he's still managed to stay a decent hitter who you can count on for 10-20 homeruns and a good average. Now, I'm not sure whether he could still play in the OF but Oakland's outfield seems pretty much set for 2012, so he play pretty much solely at DH again; Johnny Gomes will spend time at DH, as may Chris Carter (though it also depends on who wins the 1B sweepstakes). Damon is interesting: he's not what he once was, but he still seems like a pretty good hitter who is also a good presence in the clubhouse as a veteran, champion of two World Series.

Here's the thing: where does Damon fit in? It seems whoever loses the 1B contest will get time at DH, as will Johnny Gomes. Damon's defense has decreased and the outfield is pretty much full. Johnny may be the most sensible option for the AThletics, but considering the current situation, signing him would just be a roadblock from some of the rookies and he would either be stealing playing time or not getting much.

Verdict: You could make a good case for Damon, but considering the A's current philosophy, he's not a fit for Oakland.

2: Vladimir Guerrero

Out of all three players, Guerrero may have the most impressive career stat line, even if Ramirez seems to be clearly better. First of all, Ramirez was on 'roids, so we don't know how much of his performance was actually him. Guerrero has 449 homeruns in his career and in 15 full seasons he has hit over .300 13 times. He was ROY in 1997 for the then Montreal Expos and has been named to 9 All-Star games; he was the 2004 MVP and has has finished amongst the Top 10 in voting 5 times. His stats show a scary amount of consistency.

YearAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBPosAwards
1996 21 MON NL 9 27 27 2 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 .185 .185 .296 .481 24 8 1 0 0 0 0 /
1997 22 MON NL 90 354 325 44 98 22 2 11 40 3 4 19 39 .302 .350 .483 .833 117 157 11 7 0 3 2 RoY-6
1998 23 MON NL 159 677 623 108 202 37 7 38 109 11 9 42 95 .324 .371 .589 .960 150 367 15 7 0 5 13 * MVP-13
1999 24 MON NL 160 674 610 102 193 37 5 42 131 14 7 55 62 .316 .378 .600 .978 146 366 18 7 0 2 14 * AS,MVP-11,SS
2000 25 MON NL 154 641 571 101 197 28 11 44 123 9 10 58 74 .345 .410 .664 1.074 162 379 15 8 0 4 23 * AS,MVP-6,SS
2001 26 MON NL 159 671 599 107 184 45 4 34 108 37 16 60 88 .307 .377 .566 .943 139 339 24 9 0 3 24 * AS,MVP-24
2002 27 MON NL 161 709 614 106 206 37 2 39 111 40 20 84 70 .336 .417 .593 1.010 160 364 20 6 0 5 32 * AS,MVP-4,SS
2003 28 MON NL 112 467 394 71 130 20 3 25 79 9 5 63 53 .330 .426 .586 1.012 156 231 18 6 0 4 22 * MVP-17
2004 29 ANA AL 156 680 612 124 206 39 2 39 126 15 3 52 74 .337 .391 .598 .989 156 366 19 8 0 8 14 * AS,MVP-1,SS
2005 30 LAA AL 141 594 520 95 165 29 2 32 108 13 1 61 48 .317 .394 .565 .959 154 294 16 8 0 5 26 * AS,MVP-3,SS
2006 31 LAA AL 156 665 607 92 200 34 1 33 116 15 5 50 68 .329 .382 .552 .934 139 335 16 4 0 4 25 * AS,MVP-9,SS
2007 32 LAA AL 150 660 574 89 186 45 1 27 125 2 3 71 62 .324 .403 .547 .950 147 314 19 9 0 6 28 AS,MVP-3,SS
2008 33 LAA AL 143 600 541 85 164 31 3 27 91 5 3 51 77 .303 .365 .521 .886 130 282 27 4 0 4 16 MVP-14
2009 34 LAA AL 100 407 383 59 113 16 1 15 50 2 1 19 56 .295 .334 .460 .794 108 176 16 4 0 1 3 /
2010 35 TEX AL 152 643 593 83 178 27 1 29 115 4 5 35 60 .300 .345 .496 .841 119 294 19 9 0 6 5 AS,MVP-11,SS
2011 36 BAL AL 145 590 562 60 163 30 1 13 63 2 2 17 56 .290 .317 .416 .733 101 234 23 7 0 4 3 *D
16 Seasons 2147 9059 8155 1328 2590 477 46 449 1496 181 94 737 985 .318 .379 .553 .931 140 4506 277 103 0 64 250

162 Game Avg.

162 684 615 100 195 36 3 34 113 14 7 56 74 .318 .379 .553 .931 140 340 21 8 0 5 19

In 2002, he was one dinger away from joining the 40-40 club, and while he's lost almost all of his old speed (and his defensive capabilities), he can still be counted on for 15-25 homeruns and a high average. However, I don't think that his insane 2010 season was an accurate showing of his current capabilities; 36 year-olds rarely have 100 RBI season where they also hit .300. In 2012, I would expect him to put up the same kind of numbers that he put up for Baltimore, perhaps with a few more HR's; think .288/16/77 with .755 OPS.

Well, that's not so bad. The problem is, out of all three players, Vlad is the one who could probably ask for the most money (6-7 million for one year, maybe - I don't know the contract situations), he would be solely DH. Again, the same problem that came up with Damon arises with Vlad, except this time with balky knees. Also, while Damon will probably hit the same way he did in 2011 in 2012, there's a possibility that Vlad will come down to earth and release he's an old man; think .260/11/64. In that case, there's really no point in signing him.

Verdict: Again, interesting, but the chance of a complete failure and the lose of playing time for Carter & Co is too much of a risk.

3: Manny Ramirez

Out of these three players, Manny is the one I feel most strongly about. To put it simply, Manny Ramirez is an jerk. His repeated drug use coupled with his lousy attitude and the catastrophe that is the result of "Manny being Manny" makes him the one of the most disliked players in baseball. He's not going to be a fantastic hitter - perhaps not even a good hitter - he may get injured, and, of course, he'll miss the first 50 games of the season serving the 50-game suspension that he couldn't face last year but says that he'll serve in 2012 (unless he decides to retire again). For a team that seems to pride itself on being loose and fun, Manny is the last player you would want. For sake of being balanced, I'll put his stats here, but they make no difference to me.

YearAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBPosAwards
1993 21 CLE AL 22 55 53 5 9 1 0 2 5 0 0 2 8 .170 .200 .302 .502 34 16 3 0 0 0 0 /
1994 22 CLE AL 91 336 290 51 78 22 0 17 60 4 2 42 72 .269 .357 .521 .878 125 151 6 0 0 4 4 * RoY-2
1995 23 CLE AL 137 571 484 85 149 26 1 31 107 6 6 75 112 .308 .402 .558 .960 147 270 13 5 2 5 6 * AS,MVP-12,SS
1996 24 CLE AL 152 647 550 94 170 45 3 33 112 8 5 85 104 .309 .399 .582 .981 146 320 18 3 0 9 8 *
1997 25 CLE AL 150 651 561 99 184 40 0 26 88 2 3 79 115 .328 .415 .538 .953 144 302 19 7 0 4 5 *
1998 26 CLE AL 150 663 571 108 168 35 2 45 145 5 3 76 121 .294 .377 .599 .976 146 342 18 6 0 10 6 * AS,MVP-6
1999 27 CLE AL 147 640 522 131 174 34 3 44 165 2 4 96 131 .333 .442 .663 1.105 173 346 12 13 0 9 9 * AS,MVP-3,SS
2000 28 CLE AL 118 532 439 92 154 34 2 38 122 1 1 86 117 .351 .457 .697 1.154 186 306 9 3 0 4 9 AS,MVP-6,SS
2001 29 BOS AL 142 620 529 93 162 33 2 41 125 0 1 81 147 .306 .405 .609 1.014 160 322 9 8 0 2 25 AS,MVP-9,SS
2002 30 BOS AL 120 518 436 84 152 31 0 33 107 0 0 73 85 .349 .450 .647 1.097 184 282 13 8 0 1 14 AS,MVP-9,SS
2003 31 BOS AL 154 679 569 117 185 36 1 37 104 3 1 97 94 .325 .427 .587 1.014 160 334 22 8 0 5 28 * AS,MVP-6,SS
2004 32 BOS AL 152 663 568 108 175 44 0 43 130 2 4 82 124 .308 .397 .613 1.009 152 348 17 6 0 7 15 * AS,MVP-3,SS
2005 33 BOS AL 152 650 554 112 162 30 1 45 144 1 0 80 119 .292 .388 .594 .982 153 329 20 10 0 6 9 * AS,MVP-4,SS
2006 34 BOS AL 130 558 449 79 144 27 1 35 102 0 1 100 102 .321 .439 .619 1.058 165 278 13 1 0 8 16 * AS,MVP-18,SS
2007 35 BOS AL 133 569 483 84 143 33 1 20 88 0 0 71 92 .296 .388 .493 .881 126 238 21 7 0 8 13 * AS
2008 36 TOT MLB 153 654 552 102 183 36 1 37 121 3 0 87 124 .332 .430 .601 1.031 165 332 17 11 0 4 24 *7D AS,MVP-4
2008 36 LAD NL 53 229 187 36 74 14 0 17 53 2 0 35 38 .396 .489 .743 1.232 221 139 5 3 0 4 16
2008 36 BOS AL 100 425 365 66 109 22 1 20 68 1 0 52 86 .299 .398 .529 .926 137 193 12 8 0 0 8
2009 37 LAD NL 104 431 352 62 102 24 2 19 63 0 1 71 81 .290 .418 .531 .949 153 187 7 7 0 1 21
2010 38 TOT MLB 90 320 265 38 79 16 0 9 42 1 1 46 61 .298 .409 .460 .870 138 122 6 6 0 3 4 7D
2010 38 CHW AL 24 88 69 6 18 1 0 1 2 0 0 14 23 .261 .420 .319 .739 104 22 2 5 0 0 0
2010 38 LAD NL 66 232 196 32 61 15 0 8 40 1 1 32 38 .311 .405 .510 .915 150 100 4 1 0 3 4
2011 39 TBR AL 5 17 17 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 .059 .059 .059 .118 -66 1 0 0 0 0 0 /D
19 Seasons 2302 9774 8244 1544 2574 547 20 555 1831 38 33 1329 1813 .312 .411 .585 .996 154 4826 243 109 2 90 216
162 Game Avg. 162 688 580 109 181 38 1 39 129 3 2 94 128 .312 .411 .585 .996 154 340 17 8 0 6 15

There's no more to say: Manny has a bad attitude and will hurt the team far more then he'd help it.

Verdict: No, no and no again.

So that's it. Three veterans. Two of them, you could make a case for. But in conclusion, none of them would make much of a difference (they'd just be for one year anyway) and they would contradict the A's current rebuilding philosophy. Say what you want, but I'm not bought on any of them.

Poll
Which one of these three veterans should the A's sign?

  159 votes | Results

9 comments  | 

Manny's Contract

First and foremost I do not want to sign Manny Ramirez. He has a terrible attitude and personality and will be toxic for the A's clubhouse. He will take away at bats from our young guys AND on top of all that, we can't use him until 50 games into the season. That being said the A's organization doesn't care what I think and they're going to do whatever they want. In case you haven't read the news, it seems like all other teams dropped out of the race and he is Oakland's for the taking.

It will only be a matter of days if we decide to sign him, so what type of contract do you think we should offer. If you look at his stats: http: www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirma02.shtml , you can see that he is a phenomenal hitter. Even though he is now off of steroids and Oakland isn't very hitter friendly, he will still probably lead the A's in a lot of categories if given a full season and will still be very impactful with a partial season. Since we are the only team that will give him an offer we can pretty much make it really cheap. As I was brooding about signing him, I thought to myself, 'if were gonna do it we my as well go all out'. So this is what I decided we should offer him:

1yr/ 1mm with a 2nd yr option for 3mm.

2nd year option! Oh no! My reasons are this: He had a 2mm contract from TB in 2011 (even though he "retired"), so since he is only playing a partial season he can get 1mm from us. Then the 3mm option for the next year makes him less upset about only getting 1mm this year.

The next year plan: If he ends up hitting almost as well as he did in 09/10 for the games he plays with us this year (which is absolutely possible), then I think we should bring him back (as long as he isn't a dick). Having someone hit as well as he does and we only pay him 3mm would still be a huge discount to us. By next year Barton probably won't be re-signed and either Allen, Kila, or Carter will be at first. Then one of them can also be traded come the off season. This way Manny in 2013 won't really be taking any AB away from the young guys. If Manny doesn't perform this year then we don't pick up his option. It's a weird dynamic, but it just might work. So if we're going in for Manny with a low ball offer this year, we my as well stretch that low ball offer over to an option for next. What do you think?

Poll
If we sign Manny, how long would you want him to stay if he ends up hitting like he did in 2009 and 2010?

  64 votes | Results

4 comments  | 

Community Prospect List #4

Community Prospect List:

#1: Jarrod Parker, RHP

#2: Michael Choice, CF

#3: AJ Cole, SP

There are about 11 or so weeks until Opening Day, so we will be doing one voting thread per week until the season starts. So get ready, set and VOTE!

The Poll Option won the vote last week, so we will be going with that from now on. Please no ballot stuffing, though ;)

Please add suggestions below for players to be added to next week's poll. If you agree with a suggestion, please comment and rec it to make it more visible.

Happy voting!

Poll
Who is the A's #4 Prospect?

  531 votes | Results

46 comments  |  5 recs | 


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